Pages

Tuesday, August 2, 2016

What is a House Rabbit?

People love pets! And that is a wonderful thing, as both benefit in many proven ways including reduced stress, health, enjoyment, friendship, love and more. Just like their larger dog and cat counterparts, rabbits can make great pets too! Perosnally, I think that pet rabbits should be considered as indoor pets, which will help nuture the love and bond between your pet bunny and her adopted family! You may have heard the term House Rabbit, but what does that actually mean? The Petfinder website offers a great look in their article "Do Rabbits Make Good Pets" "Rabbits can indeed make wonderful pets—for the right people. Pet owners frequently characterize themselves in terms of their animals—“I’m a dog person” or “I’m a cat person.” But exactly what is a “rabbit person”?

According to Jennifer Saver, D.V.M. (herself a rabbit owner), a rabbit person is someone who enjoys observing as much as handling, and who does not get overly upset at a rabbit’s natural tendencies, such as chewing and digging.

Rabbits have strikingly distinctive personalities. They can be as playful and silly as puppies or kittens, as independent and fascinating as cats, or as loyal and openly affectionate as dogs. And long-time rabbit owners claim that domestic rabbits are, in their own way, every bit as smart as cats and dogs. Dana Krempels, Ph.D., an evolutionary biologist at the University of Miami, sees daily examples of this in her group of 16 rabbits. “Their intelligence is very different from other species” she says, “but is just as adaptive and just as elegant.” Rabbits can easily learn to respond to their names, as well as to simple words, and they learn to use litterboxes readily. They are adroit at getting over, under, around or through barriers intended to restrict them, and some owners seem almost proud of their rabbits’ ability to negotiate household obstacles.

There are also those owners who, thinking that they have succeeded in training their rabbits, discover that their rabbits have actually trained them. Ann Casama of Fair Lawn, NJ, conditioned her rabbit, Patrick, to return to his cage by ringing a toy bell and offering him a treat, but within a short period of time, Patrick began ringing the bell on his own and waiting expectantly for his treat. If Casama does not respond as quickly as Patrick would like, he rings the bell again."